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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Betty's Sunday Plan

HOB is livin' the life in the big city of Las Vegas this weekend. (Work conference--or so he SAYS.)

It is cold outside.

I have a cold inside my head.

I have a giant cat beside me on the bed.

Evan has returned to the world of driving so I don't need to cart him around.

It is Sunday and I have NO grading to do.

I think you know what this all adds up to: a day of reading--right? Yahoo!

The trouble is I've read (ironic, I know) two articles lately that warn of a sedentary lifestyle, particularly sitting for more than four hours at a stretch.

Here's a snippet from one of the articles:

Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly.

Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs.

Research is preliminary, but several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or even die.

While health officials have issued guidelines recommending minimum amounts of physical activity, they haven't suggested people try to limit how much time they spend in a seated position.

"After four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," Ekblom-Bak said. She explained that genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down.

Rats!

Oh wait a minute!

Careful reading of this article reveals the secret:

As long as I'm lying down with a book it should be no problem.

Ahhhhhhh.... Go ahead--take away one of my pillows so there's no temptation to get into the deadly seated position and hand me my stack o' books.